A recent EU LIFE+ funded survey of purchasing managers in Italy has identified factors that influence adoption of Green Public Procurement (GPP), and suggests that a broad knowledge of GPP is key to its implementation. Public authorities, including a total of 156 purchasing or environmental managers, were interviewed by telephone to establish their awareness and use of ‘green initiatives’.

Surprisingly, no link was found between public authorities adopting the ISO 14001 certificate, which maps out a framework for an effective environmental management system, and the implementation of GPP - contrasting with the findings of previous studies. This may be a result of the two being seen as separate rather than harmonious measures, meaning resources are allocated to one or the other.

The size of the public authority was found to influence the implementation of GPP, as small public organisations may not have specialised personnel or full-time managers dealing with GPP. Support from external experts for purchasing goods and services was also found to encourage the development of GPP practices. The survey indicates that better information and training schemes on the technical, legal and economic aspects of purchasing more environmentally-friendly goods and services is an effective strategy to encourage GPP uptake.

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